Tufting machines



1959 J. A. COBBLE, SR., EI'AL 2,

TUFTING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 25. 1955 I JAMES AOOBBLESR. F .I JAMESACOBBLEJR. INVENTORS I GORDON C.LEONARD JAMES A. PARDUE ATTORNEY Feb. 17, 1959 J. A. COBBLE, sR'., ETAL 2,873,705

TUFTING MACHINES Filed Feb. 25, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.8

22885.???- GORDON t. LEONARD' 'NVENTQRS JAMES A. PARDUE BY 97%41 Wu ATTORNEY J. A. COBBLE, SR., ET AL 2,873

Feb. 17, 1959 TUFTING MACHINES 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 25, 1955 zaaat 3E- GORDON 'c. LEON/(RD. 'NVENTQRS .uwas A. PARDUE ATTORNEY Feb. 17, 1959 ,1. COBBLE, SR., ETAL 23735 TUFTING MACHINES Filed Feb. 25, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 32:25? Q'ESEStEiS" GORDON t. LEONA'RD' 'NVENTORS JAMES A. PARDUE ATTORNEY United States Patent TUFTING MACHINES James A. Cobble, Sn, Harrison, and James A. Cobble, Jr., Chattanooga, Tenn., Gordon C. Leonard, Rossville, Ga., and James A. Pal-due, Chattanooga, Tenn.

Application February 25, 1955, Serial No. 490,504

2 Claims. (Cl. 112-79) chine of the above character wherein the tufts of various lengths are automatieallyproduced through control of the amount of yarn fed to the needle for each stroke so as to provide only enough yarn to produce the size tuft required by the design for that particular stroke. A further object of this invention is to provide a machine of the above character wherein the yarn measuring mechanism is exact in releasing the same amount of yarn for each tuft of a particular length to insure a uniformity of size for all tufts of that particular length throughout the finished article.

A further object of this invention is to provide a machine of the abovecharacter wherein'the design is easily changeable and the type of design created in the finished product is limited only by the fact that it is formed by Variety in length of the tufts produced by the machine.

These" and other objects of this invention will become apparent or will. be explained in the course of the de tailed description of the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Fig. l is an end elevation, in section, vof a standard multiple needle tufting machine to which is attached our pattern control attachment, with operation shown in relation to only one yarn.

Fig. 2 is an end elevation in schematic of our invention with its component parts removed from the machine.

Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the yarn feed control, in the closed or locked position. v 1

Fig. 4 is a similar view to Fig. 3 showing the actuating bar extended. 7

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of the design drum and the pattern takeoff fingers, and showing" five control cables.

Fig. 6 is a view showing diagrammatically asmall section of a tufted rug produced by the machine.

Fig. 7 is an end elevation of the yarn measuring mech anism, shoWing'actuating rods intw'o positions.

Fig. 8 is a front elevation of the yarn measuring mechanism shown in Fig. 7, with only three yarns shown.

Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the actuating bar guide bar with cover removed showing two actuating rods.

Fig. 1'0 is a side elevation of the pattern take-off finger and its component parts.

In the construction shown in the drawings 32 represents the m'ain body of a standard multiple needle or' yardage tu'fti'ng machine and its supporting base 82. The

2,873,705 Patented Feb. 17, 1959 construction and operation of this type machine is wellknown and for the purposes of explaining this invention only those parts affected by the invention will be-discussed in detail or shown in the drawings. Only the yarn control mechanism that is connected to a single needle will be described in detail, since the use of our invention in a multiple needle machine involves the duplication of this mechanism for each needle. The pattern drum 7 is mounted securely to the shaft 6 by clamp 77 and bolt 87. Shaft 6 rotates in pillow 'block bearing 5. Bearing 5 is attached by bolts 3 to the plates 4, one being on each end of drum 7, and plates 4 are rigidly attached to the extension 31 of machine head 32 by bolt 9. Allowance is made for adjustment of the position of the pattern drum along plate 4 by means of the set screw 1 and lock nut 2. The shaft 6 is connected directly into the power source (not shown) that operates the machine by means of a gear train (not shown). A portion of the design 8 is carved or impressed upon pattern drum 7. Pattern takeo'lf finger 16' is pivoted upon axle 14, which is rigidly attached to head extension 31 by brackets 13, and by bolts 86. To the outer edge of finger 16 is attached roller 10, which rotates upon shaft 11. Individual fingers are separated by spacers 12. A control cable 15 is attached to the inner end of finger 1'6, and to the horizontal arm of a 90 bell crank 22', so that when there is tension on" control cable 15, the roller it) is pressed downward upon-pattern drum 7, and, upon rotation of pattern dr'um 7 follows the elevations of the design thereon. The bell crank 22 rotates upon pin Zii, which is supported by frame plate 18,tha't is attached to extension 31 by bolt 17. Frame plate 18 is rigidly attached to frame plates 24 and 88 by crosspiece 21, that is bolted to frame plates 18 and 88 by bolts 19. Frame plate 88 is attached by bolts 56 to extension 61, of machine head 32. Bell crank 25 rotates upon pin 26, which is supported by frame plates 24 and 88. Control cable 23 is attached at one end to the vertical arm of bell crank 22 and at the other end to the vertical arm of bell crank 25. Support 24 is aihxed at its upper end to pin 26 and at its lower end to guide bar 51, which rests upon the plate 52. Guide bar 51 and plate 52 are bolted to mounting arm 42 by bolts 43, that is rigidly attached at its lower end to machine head 32 by bolts (not shown).

The actuating bars 50 he in, and move freely in slots in the upper surface of guide bar 51. At their inward ends, when moved backwards, they abut against either head 55 or 57 that are removably afii'xed by bolt 58 to kicker arm 54. Heads 55 and '57 are firmly held in their respective relative positions by meshing teeth 59. Kicker arm 54- is rigidly attached at its lower end to the inner end of shaft 48 by bolts 75. The slotted lever 47 is rigidly attached to the outer end of shaft 48 by its construction and 'by bolt 49. A housing comprised of plates 44 and 45 is provided for this mechanism and is connected directly to machine head 32 by bolts 46. Connecting rod 63 is connected directly to the main shaft 66 by means of off-set cam 65 and bolt 64 at its upper end and. the lower end is connected to the lever 47 by means of a bolt 67 and a washer 62. This attachment is rigid but the lever 47 is grooved to allow adjustment.- The off-set cam attachment provides a reciprocating movement' of the connecting rod 63' at its connection with the lever 47.

Actuating bar 50, resting freely in the groove in guide bar 51, is pulled inwardly and downwardly by spring 60-, which is attached to the actuating. bar 50 by means of a hole drilled therein, and to the kicker arm 54- by means of bracket 53. The inward end of actuating bar 50 may be raised or lowered by control cable 27, so as to be level'with either head 55 or'57.

As connecting rod 63 moves upward the upper end of kicker arm 54 is caused to reciprocate in a generally horizontal direction. Upon the outward movement of the upper end of kicker arm 54, either the head 55 or the head 57 strikes and pushes outwardly actuating bar 50, so that actuating bar 50 is caused to reciprocate in a horizontal direction by the counter actions of kicker arm 54 and spring 60. The extent of the forward movement of actuating bar 50 at each reciprocation depends upon whether it is struck by head 55 or head 57 of kicker arm 54, and this in turn, depends upon whether actuating bar 50 is held in a raised or lowered position by control cable 27.

Tufting yarn 28 is fed into the machine from an overhead position and passes through guide 74 which is attached to support 24 by bracket 29 and bolts 30. The yarn then passes through guide 34 which is attached to bracket 33 which is mounted to guide bar 51 by screw 76. As the yarn leaves guide 34 it crosses the top of the cylindrical surface of upper locking rod 38, which is attached parallel to guidebar 51 by plate 35 and bolts 36 which are attached securely to the perpendicular extension of guide bar 51 by screws 85. As it crosses the top of the cylindrical surface of upper locking rod 38, the yarn passes between pins 37 and 80, which are attached to, and project outwardly and upwardly in parallel positions from the forward surface of locking rod 38, and are in the same transverse section of rod 38. The yarn then encircles the locking rod 38 and crosses over itself as it again passes between pins 37 and 80, so as to form a simple hitch. The yarn then passes downwardly thru an eye constructed in the outer end of actuating bar 50, and thence downwardly thru stationary guide 39 which is attached to plate 52 by screws 78. Thence the yarn passes downwardly across the outward cylindrical surface of lower locking rod 41. The lower locking rod 41 is cylindrical in shape and is of the same size and in a parallel position to upper locking rod 38. It is securely clamped in position to a downward extension of guide bar 51 by bolts 36. Projecting from the lower outward cylindrical surface of lower locking rod 41 are pins 81 and 40, which extend outwardly and downwardly from lower locking rod 41 and are in the same transverse section of locking rod 41. As the yarn passes across the outer surface of locking rod 41, it passes between pins 81 and 40 in the same direction as it passed between pins 37 and 80 on locking rod 38. The yarn then encircles the cylindrical surface of locking rod 41 and passes between pins 81 and 40 in the opposite direction as before, and then crosses beneath itself, thus creating a hitch opposite to the one created between pins 37 and 80. After leaving lower locking rod 41 the yarn passes through guide 79 which is attached to the machine head, and yarn jerker 68, which is attached to the needle carrier. It then passes through the eye of needle 69, and is formed into loops in fabric base 71 by action of needle 69 and looper 70.

In the operation of the machine shafts 66 and 6 are rotated by the source of power, and the needle 69 is caused to reciprocate by the source of power, as in an ordinary sewing machine. As the roller rolls on the pattern upon drum 7, pattern take-off finger 16 is caused to oscillate on the pivot 14. When the inward end of pattern take-off finger 16 moves downward in response to the upward movement of the roller 10 on the pattern, control cable is pulled downward, control cable 23 is pulled in the direction of bell crank 22 and control cable 27 is pulled upward, raising actuating rod 50 to a proper level to be struck by the inward head 57 of kicker arm 54. Similarly, when roller 10 moves downward on the pattern upon drum 7, the inward end of pattern take-off finger 16 rises, allowing control cable 15 to rise and control cable 23 to move in a direction away from hell crank 22, as control cable 27 is pulled downward by spring 60,

and actuating rod 50 is thus lowered into a position to be 4 struck by the outward head 55 of kicker arm 54. The extent of the outward horizontal movement of actuating rod 50 depends upon whether it moves in response to head 57 or head 55 of kicker arm 54; and this, in turn depends upon the upward and downward movement of roller 10 in response to the pattern on drum 7.

As actuating bar 50 moves outwardly, it lifts the overlapping yarn on the outward cylindrical surface of locking rod 38, so that the hitch formed by the pressure of this over-lapping yarn is released, and the yarn is pulled downwardly and around locking rod 38, actuating bar 50 thus serving as a yarn actuating means for pulling the yarn from the yarn supply. The outward movement of actuating bar 50 causes an upward pull upon the yarn through the stationary guide 39. This upward pull, however, creates pressure by the over-lapping yarn on locking rod 41 upon the under-lapping yarn, and creates a hitch around locking rod 41 that prevents any upward movement of yarn in response to the outward movement of actuating bar 50.

Actuating bar 50 in its outward movement therefore pulls all of the yarn required to permit its outward movement downwardly around locking rod 38, and does not pull any yarn upwardly around locking rod 41. The amount of yarn that is thus pulled downwardly around locking rod 38 by actuating bar 50 on each outward movement of bar 50 depends upon the distance that bar 50 travels in such movement. This in turn depends upon whether it was struck by head 57 or 55 of kicker arm 54. And this in turn depends upon whether the movement of roller 10 upon the pattern caused actuating bar 50 to be in a raised or lowered position. Thus the upward or downward position of roller 10 in response to the pattern governs the quantity of yarn that is pulled downwardly around locking rod 38 by each outward movement of actuating bar 50.

Cam 65 is adjusted with respect to the cam that operates the needle so that as the connecting rod 63 moves in an upward direction thus rotating shaft 48 in a clockwise direction and moving kicker arm 54 forward causing actuating rod 50 to move outwardly, the needle is then progressing downward to form through fabric base 71 a loop stitch 72 or 73 on looper 70, which is mounted on holder 83.

As shaft 48 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction by downward movement of connecting rod 63 and kicker arm 54 moves rearwardly permitting spring 60 to cause actuating bar 50 to move inwardly, the needle moves upwardly from the fabric base 71. The upward movement of the needle 69 and the yarn jerker 68 creates a downward pull at yarn guide 79 thus pulling yarn downwardly around locking rod 41. Since the yarn leading to the needle underlaps itself on locking rod 41, this downward pull does not create a hitch. As soon as actuating bar 50 begins to move inwardly, the pressure of the overlapping yarn on locking rod 41 ceases and the hitch that was formed by the outward movement of actuating bar 50 is unlocked, so that yarn is free to be pulled downwardly by the needle around locking rod 41, to be used by the needle to form a loop on its next downward movement.

The inward movement of actuating bar 50 and the tension of the yarn caused by the upward stroke of the needle and yarn jerker 68 cause the over-lapping yarn on locking rod 38 to create a hitch that does not permit the yarn jerker 68 to pull yarn downwardly around locking rod 38. The needle in its downward strokes receives for the formation of a loop only the quantity of yarn that was released by the actuating bar 50 on its previous inward movement. Such quantity of yarn is released to the needle downwardly around locking rod 41 as actuating bar 50 moves inwardly from its extended position shown in Fig. 4 to its retracted position shown in Fig. 3. A greater quantity of yarn is withdrawn from the source of supply by bar 50 when it is actuated by head 55 than when it is actuated by head 57. Therefore,

when bar 50 is actuated by head 55, a greater quantity of yarn is fed to the needle by bar 50 than when bar 50 is actuated by head 57. At each upward stroke of the needle, yarn jerker 68 requires the withdrawal of a sufficient supply of yarn to enable the needle to form a full-sized loop on its next succeeding downward movement. When bar 50 is actuated by head 55, an adequate supply of yarn to form a full-sized loop is withdrawn from the yarn supply spindle by bar 50 on its outward movement and is then withdrawn by yarn jerker 68 through the unlocked hitch around rod 41 upon the upward movement of the needle. The yarn so withdrawn by yarn jerker 68 is fed to the needle at its next downward stroke, resulting in a full-sized loop. When bar 50 is actuated by head 57, the supply of yarn that is withdrawn by bar 50 from the yarn supply spindle is inadequate to form a full-sized loop. Therefore, as the yarn jerker next moves upward, it withdraws from around rod 41 all of the yarn that has previously been withdrawn from the yarn supply spindle by bar 50, and in addition withdraws a suflicient quantity of yarn from the loop just formed by the needle to satisfy the yarn deficiency, so that a suflicient supply of yarn for a fullsized loop is provided for the needle upon its next downward stroke. The withdrawal of yarn by the yarn jerker from the loop that has just been formed shortens this loop. Since bar 50 is actuated by either head 55 or head 57 in response to the position of roller on the pattern, the quantity of yarn fed the needle, and consequently the size of the loop stitch that is made upon each stroke of the needle is determined by the position of roller 10 on the pattern. As long as roller 10 is in a raised position on the rotating pattern, small loops are formed; as long as roller 10 is in a lowered position on the pattern long loops are formed. The needle in this manner forms a design upon the fabric 71 by means of large loops 73 and small loops 72, corresponding inversely to the pattern on the drum 7.

Our description has only referred to a pattern having two elevations and two heads (55 and 57) for governing the sizes of the loops that are made by the needle. In such case the design upon the fabric is formed by only two sizes of loops. However, the pattern upon drum 7 may have 3 or more elevations, and there may be three or more heads, corresponding to various elevations of the pattern. In these cases the needle will form designs upon the fabric comprised of more than two sizes of loops.

We have only described the yarn control mechanism that governs the feeding of yarn to a single needle. It

is usually more efiicient to use a considerable number of needles operating simultaneously. When this is done, each needle has a yarn control mechanism similar to the one described. The needles, operating together as in the usual multiple needle machine, form loops that are of sizes that are determined by the positions of their respective corresponding rollers upon the drum pattern. As the drum rotates the rollers, each connected with a particular needle, rise and fall in conformance with the pattern,-and the needles in turn form a design corresponding to the pattern upon the fabric.

Having thus described our invention, we claim:

1. In a tufting machine the combination of a revolving member containing an embossed pattern, a yarn actuating bar reciprocating respectively to said pattern, an upper yarn locking rod between the yarn actuating bar and the yarn supply spindle, said rod having thereon two pins projecting outwardly and upwardly in the same transverse section thereof, between which pins the yarn is adapted to form a'hitch around said locking rod that unlocks upon the actuating movement of the yarn actuating bar and locks upon the reverse movement thereof, a lower yarn locking rod between the yarn actuating bar and the needle, having thereon two pins projecting outwardly and downwardly in the same transverse section thereof, between which pins the yarn is adapted to form a hitch around said locking rod in reverse direction to that upon the upper locking rod, which hitch locks upon the actuating movement of the yarn actuating bar, concurrently with the downward movement of the needle, and unlocks upon the reverse movement of the yarn actuating bar, concurrently with the upward movement of the needle, for regulating the supply of yarn to the needle in conformity with said pattern.

2. In a tufting machine the combination of a revolving member containing an embossed pattern, a yarn actuating bar reciprocating responsively to said pattern, an upper yarn locking rod having upon it two pins projecting outwardly and upwardly in the same transverse section, between which pins the yarn is adapted to form a hitch around said rod that unlocks upon the yarn actuating movement of the yarn actuating bar and locks upon the reverse movement of the bar, a lower yarn locking rod having upon it two pins projecting outwardly and downwardly in the same transverse section, between which pins the yarn is adapted to form a hitch around said rod in reverse direction to said first-mentioned hitch, said hitch around the lower locking rod locking upon the yarn actuating movement of the yarn actuating bar, which is concurrent with the downward movement of the needle, and unlocking upon the reverse movement of the yarn actuating bar, which is concurrent with the upward movement of the needle, a yarn jerker withdrawing yarn from the loop just formed when insuflicient yarn to form a full-sized loop is released by the locking rods; whereby to vary the length of tufts in conformity with said pattern.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,020,090 Gray Mar. 12, 1912 1,831,485 Dykeman Nov. 10, 1931 1,863,049 Hermann June 14, 1932 1,909,531 Gladish May 16, 1933 1,984,330. Boyce Dec. 11, 1934 2,117,115 Miller May 10, 1938' 2,354,731 Ashworth et al. Aug. 1, 1944 2,782,741 Smith Feb. 26, 1957 2,784,689 MacCatfray Mar. 12, 1957 2,810,471 Shattuck Oct. 22, 1957 2,811,244 MacCalfray Oct. 29, 1957 

